Entebbe, Uganda – A cabinet meeting convened on Monday, February 1 has approved a recommendation for the re-opening of schools to non-candidate learners. The schools were closed in March 2020 as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus disease.
According to government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, schools will now be allowed to reopen in a staggered manner that will ensure compliance with COVID-19 standard Operating Procedures (SoPs).
He noted that cabinet had resolved, that all semi candidate classes, which include Primary Six, Senior three and senior five should report back to school in the short term and study with the candidate classes.
“Given that PLE will be completed on March 31, 2021, and UCE on April 6, there will be more space in schools when candidates leave to enable the other classes to report back and study, as a complement to homeschooling,” a statement from Mr. Opondo reads.
He revealed that completion of the academic year and promotion to the next class will be based on attendance and continuous assessment of classwork and assignments. However, Pre-Primary schools will remain closed because the learners in this category cannot observe SOPs and are prone to respiratory infections.
Africa Tembelea has however, learnt that higher institutions of learning have been given a task to open in the short term. The Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions, National Teachers Colleges’ and Primary Teachers Colleges are expected to open in the short term because many of them have the infrastructure capacity for the number of students enrolled, to observe the social distancing requirement.
According to cabinet, all students in these tertiary institutions should be allowed to report back with the final year students.
While the total positive Covid-19 cases stand at 39,606 in Uganda, a total of 14,229 have since recovered while 325 have so far succumbed to the virus.
